Review:
The Power of Five: Nightrise
Scholastic Press/ Walter Books Ltd* Excerpt"But the two of them were continuing forward and it was only when he looked past them and across of the field that Jamie understood the full horror of what they were about to face. The army of the blue star was hopelessly outnumbered. It was facing certain death. For every one of them, there were ten of the enemy. Human and nonhuman, they went on for as far as the eye could see." Excerpt from Nightrise. Anthony Horowitz. Page 259. What does it mean?Suspense, simply put, is one of the main "weapons" Anthony Horowitz uses through out every single book he has written. People being out numbered. A near-death experience. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. All suspense. These suspenseful events are what helps Anthony Horowitz build up excitement throughout his stories. They also help limit the readers of knowing what is going to happen next, making every event a surprise and compelling to read. |
Twins. Freaks.That was what they were. Telepathy. That was their power. Abandoned when they were born, Scott and Jamie Tyler were adopted by many families, each one sooner or later wanted to get rid of them from their lives. In the second book of the Gatekeeper/The Power of Five series, we were introduced to the second gate that would be a doorway for the Old Ones, monsters who wanted to end the world, Evil Star. Nightrise takes place just a few weeks before the end of the second book. The Tyler twins had been sold to a circus entertainer-Don White- who forced them into his show as telepathic twins. One night an act had gone terribly wrong and in the middle of the night, the twins are captured by a mysterious organization, Nightrise. Luckily, one of the twins is saved by Alicia, one of the volunteers in the twins' performance, but Scott wasn't so fortunate. With the aid of Alicia, Jamie finds out where his brother is being kept and with the help of the Senator, John Trelawny, Jamie is sent to a juvenile correction center where his brother is being held, under a false name. When Jamie is wounded in the escape of the juvenile correction center with Alicia's son, who was kidnapped two years ago for having "special" powers, he is sent 10,000 years back into the past, where he meets the first generation of the Gatekeepers, and fights in the last battle. Sent back to his time, Jamie saves John Trelawny from being assassinated and rescues his brother. Wanted for being falsely accused of murdering their guardians, Jamie and Scott set off to find Matt and Pedro, the other two Gatekeepers. This book is not only filled with the struggles of two young teenagers, this book also contains political struggles between people as Nightrise is using its power to influence the outcome of the presidential votes. Horowitz dances on the thin strand of wire that marks the line between fantasy and reality as the story progresses. Using fantasy to keep the reader hooked and the story interesting, but also keeping the story a reality, making readers wonder if these events could happen. It's amazing that Horowitz, with his amazing abilities seemingly without effort bring these children together, even when they have completely different lives. The four Gatekeepers finally unite in Peru, but there is still one more. A girl. Her presence is revealed at the the end of Nightrise, but what's this? I believe it is a twist. |